The Wichita State table tennis team sent three players to nationals last season. This season, the team is hoping to qualify for nationals as a team.

Table Tennis is a sports club at Wichita State, who last year qualified for a regional tournament. In their division, the team competes against KU, K-State, Oklahoma University, and Nebraska State.

The team is composed of five players, four boys and one girl.

Senior Aida Amir is the only girl on the tennis team.

Amir said that she represented the female perspective on the team and her main goal when joining was to simply be better than her male teammates.

“It makes me even more motivated to train harder because then when we play this competition, it’s mostly men,” Amir said.

Amir previously played tennis and said she believes that the hand-to-eye coordination helped her transition.

“It’s like the mini version, so essentially it was like easier but obviously it’s not as easy as people think it is,” Amir said.

She became interested in table tennis during her freshman year.

She said that her friend who played table tennis introduced her to the sport and soon after, the club.

Amir encourages all students to participate in Table Tennis or any sports club.

“Don’t pressure yourself into thinking ‘If I join this club, I’m going to be like having to be there every week,’” Amir said. “It’s more like just taking that step to just be here like that’s what I do.”

Senior Brett Herrman was a freshman in 2018 when his roommate and he saw a flier for the table tennis club.

“I played in my garage a few times, but suddenly, it was something that would be fun to do,” Herrman said. “We had a pretty good time playing and they invited us back and kind of stuck with it.”

Herrman grew up playing sports and enjoyed the competitive aspect. He said that competing against different schools has helped him stay with the club.

He is now also the president of the Sports Club Executive Board.

“Getting involved on campus is probably the best thing you can do freshman year through senior year,” Herman said.

Table Tennis hosts its practices at the Sunset Banquet Hall. They practice Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.

“Reach out, even if you don’t think you have a chance or it might not be something you’re interested in but always give something a chance,” Herrman said.